Traveling with Kids: Pack and Go Art Sets

Summertime means travel for so many families. Whether that involves road trips or plane rides (or trains and boats!), in the end there is a lot of waiting around, which is oh so rough on the kids in our family units. Yes, we've given in to tech and brought movies and iPhone games along on our trips, but I'm also a huge fan of portable, open-ended art sets.

These sets can run the gamut from homemade to prefab - all with different pros and cons. It kind of depends on your child's age and interests. The magnetic DIY is a super easy project for kids who tend to drop things on the floor of the car. The smash journal is great for long trips - it even includes an attached pen/gluestick. On our last trip, I gave my 4-year-old a journal with something new each day (a marker, a stamp, sticker sheet, etc.) so she had something fresh to use. She created an amazing travel journal of our first big trip as a family.